Alila Hinu Bay

I am writing this review in the hopes of informing others about the embarrassing and infuriating level of customer service "offered" by Hyatt so that they can avoid the stress of having to deal with incompetent "managers" of a luxury resort that need to rely on shoddy AI tools to address customer complaints. I was supposed to stay at Alila Hinu Bay from 30 December to 2 January with my family. This was a highly anticipated visit for us given the positive reviews for the hotel and its idyllic location. I booked 2 rooms for 4 adults directly through Alila Hinu Bay's website on 28 September. My booking confirmation included a list of all the costs for our stay, including a breakdown of the additional taxes, fees and service charges. On 14 November 2025, I received an email from Alila Hinu Bay, inviting us to join a new year's eve celebration for the absurd cost of 150 OMR per person (600 OMR for a family of 4). As the email mentioned in brackets that the celebration is mandatory, we replied a week later on 23 November to say that we will not be able to attend as we have other plans. Specifically, as I was travelling with my parents in law who are in their 70s, we made different arrangements for a low key family dinner on New Year's Eve. Almost a month later and without any communication in between, I received another email from Alila Hinu Bay telling us simply that the gala dinner is mandatory "as mentioned on our website". As I was quite surprised by this response, I replied on the same day to underline that when I booked my stay there was no mention of a mandatory gala dinner, as is also evidenced by the fact that my booking made no reference to a mandatory gala dinner. As such, I underlined that I would not accept to be charged for a service that was not part of my original booking and that I was not going to make use of during my stay.  To my surprise, I received another boilerplate email from Alila Hinu Bay "threatening" that if I chose not to participate to the gala dinner they "will unfortunately be unable to honor the reservation and the booking will need to be cancelled in accordance with our policy". As I was genuinely shocked by the audacity of these people, I escalated this topic to Hyatt's headquarters. The outcome of the escalation? I received an email from Alila Hinu Bay's front desk manager that was clearly written with the use of a poor AI tool (incomplete sentences, syntax errors, text copied from my email to them etc.) telling me that as the mandatory gala dinner was announced on the hotel's website, they were obliged to charge us. They totally disregarded the fact that I sent them clear evidence that this mandatory dinner was NOT announced on the hotel's website at the time of my booking nor was it included in the cost breakdown of my booking. At that point, I was so sick of having my intellect offended by these people that I decided to cancel my reservation, after securing another booking at a different hotel. Even though it's preposterous to charge people such an amount of money for a dinner at a hotel restaurant, canceling my reservation was a matter of principle. If this is how Hyatt wants to treat its clients, then count me out.

Alila Hinu Bay is in my opinion the best hotel (resort) in Oman; we were positively surprised about the beautiful location, very well trained staff providing excellent service & comfort; the food in both restaurants is at very high international level and breakfast was outstanding, the minimalistic design of the resort buildings (covered with local stones) is really beautiful and fits so well in the landscape; rooms are large and beautifully designed.

A cozy and comfortable place to stay. A truly 5 star hotel where you can relax and have fun with yourself, family and friends.

Alila Hinu Bay is one of the most relaxing resorts I have visited. The atmosphere is calm, elegant and never crowded, perfect for unwinding. The rooms are spacious, beautifully designed and kept extremely clean. The staff are warm, professional and always ready to help, making every interaction pleasant. Breakfast and dinner offer great variety and high-quality dishes, and the beach area is peaceful with crystal-clear water. The pool is large, quiet and ideal for spending a full day. Overall, this resort delivers exceptional comfort, privacy and service. I would gladly return and highly recommend it to anyone visiting southern Oman.

Alila Hinu Bay is the best hotel we have EVER stayed at. This place is the epitome of quiet luxury -- for those who seek privacy and quality over extravagance and attention. We got the Pool Villa, which has a private plunge pool that was always the perfect temperature and was saltwater and had a great indirect view of the beach. Our entire villa smelled like frankincense! All experiences were a good deal. We signed up for an incredible halwa making class with their talented la pastry chef. The class was private and taught us how to make the best halwa of our lives. By the way, the pastries at breakfast are better than what we’ve had in France. That pastry chef needs his own bakery. Attentive but quiet service. No request we made was too much -- we randomly asked if we could eat mishkak in the lobby even though this was not a thing to do... and they delivered without question. We loved wandering the estate, seeing flamingoes in the lagoon, finding uni and crabs on the beach, and trekking over hills to unsuccessfully look for honey badgers and foxes. The design was so tasteful. Villas that matched the natural surroundings, local flora and fauna, water features inspired by Oman's impressive irrigation system... Rooms were so thoughtfully designed, from the stools in the foyer and in the luggage area. Each room had branded sunscreen, pillow mist, a beach tote, and matching hats. I can’t wait to return. I actually cried when I had to leave.